7 football fans die in flash flood at Morocco match
Wednesday’s flash flood suddenly caused a nearby river to swell suddenly, pushing torrents of water over the football field in Tizert.
Spectators scrambled for their lives, some climbing on roofs, but at least seven people died, including a 17-year-old boy.
Moroccan authorities look for bodies in a river near the southern village of Tizert in the Taroudant region. Seven people were killed on August 28 when a river burst its banks and flooded a village football pitch. (AFP)
拉巴特摩洛哥:至少7人看local soccer match in a southern Moroccan village have died in a flash flood that swept across the football field, the official MAP news agency said Thursday.
Wednesday’s flash flood suddenly caused a nearby river to swell suddenly, pushing torrents of water over the football field in Tizert, in the Taroudant region, where an amateur match was being played.
Spectators scrambled for their lives, some climbing on roofs, but at least seven people died, including a 17-year-old boy, MAP reported. An elderly man was injured.
Among the victims was recently married Hanafi Hilali, 35, who was seeking refuge on top of a dressing room but was swept away by the roaring waters, his brother Mohamed Hilali told The Associated Press.
The two had become trapped on the field, but Mohammed raced to rescue his son and his cousin, both young children.
“What happened was horrific, shocking. I could not return to rescue my brother,” he said in a phone interview, weeping as he recounted the scene. An official investigation has been opened.
Morocco’s national weather service had warned of risks of bad weather in several regions of the country.
Published on Aug 28, 2019 (0.38 min.)
Morocco flood kills seven at football match: Officials
Aug 29, 2019 - RABAT (AFP) - At least seven people were killed on Wednesday (Aug 28) when a river burst its banks and flooded a village football pitch where a game was being played in south Morocco, local authorities said.
The victims included a 17-year-old boy and six elderly men attending the match in the village of Tizert, in Taroudant region.
搜索者救出一个人受伤了the flood and were looking for another missing person, officials said.
The river overflowed and submerged the pitch where an amateur football tournament was underway, a resident told AFP.
Eight men who took refuge in the changing rooms were swept away by the floodwaters, the witness said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We're in shock. I'm 64 years old and I've never seen such a downpour," the witness said.
Photographs and videos shared on social media showed muddy waters carrying away people who had clambered on top of a building flattened by the flooding.
Morocco's national weather service had warned of the risk of stormy rains on Wednesday afternoon in several provinces.
The heavy downpour followed a dry spell, making the floods more violent, local media reported.
Floods are common in Morocco. In late July, 15 people died in a landslide caused by flash floods on a road south of Marrakesh.
